The use of various types of marine vehicles is well known in the art and many different types of boats and personal watercraft have gained a wise degree of acceptance. Originally, the use of marine vehicles was restricted to those who could afford the rather substantial expenses of both owning a boat and having access to water for use of the same. As such, the operators of the marine vehicles tended to be well trained in the use of their vehicles.
More recently, personal watercraft have gained a wide degree of popularity and are available to the ordinary consumer. Indeed, many different resort areas have rental areas where the use of the personal watercraft is wide spread. However, many of the operators do not have the background or experience and as a result, the personal watercraft have been signaled out as a hazard both to the operator and to other marine vehicles. In some jurisdictions, there have been proposals to limit or completely ban such personal watercraft.
For an inexperienced operator, one of the main drawbacks associated with such personal watercraft is the high speed such watercraft can obtain and that in order to manoeuver the watercraft, handlebars or like must be turned and the propulsion means must be activated since the vehicle is not equipped with a conventional rudder type of mechanism. Typically, the operator turns the watercraft by turning a handlebar which operates a steering mechanism for turning a discharge nozzle.
In other words, in order to steer the personal watercraft, the operator must simultaneously operate the throttle control and the handlebar. To the inexperienced operator, this can sometimes seem to be paradoxical situation since a novice operator will typically back off or release the throttle in an emergency situation such as when another watercraft or obstacle arises. However, one is unable to steer without the application of sufficient thrust from the throttle. It would therefore be desirable to have a safety system which obviates the above conditions.
There have been proposals in the art for automatic speed adjusting devices. Generally, these devices have been suggested for the purpose of slowing down the vehicle when it is passing through a turn so as to overcome any results occurring from too high a speed. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,781 discloses a device for controlling the speed of a vehicle as it negotiates a curve. Basically, a U-shaped tube having mercury contact switches is employed. Such a device is useful for use in an automobile which is operated at a speed which may exceed the allowable speed for a curve in a road. A similar type of device has been proposed for marine vehicles in U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,363 wherein there is provided a control system for a watercraft that prevents existence of more than a predetermined degree of acceleration when the watercraft is being steered through a substantial steering angle. This is substantially the opposite of what is required for marine vehicles such as personal watercraft.